The use of storytelling games with pictures to stimulate ideas, creativity has a long history. We briefly review some of the most relevant prior art.
There is a wide range of storytelling games that combine methods of play with game components containing strictly words, e.g. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,891,209 issued Jun. 24, 1975; U.S. Pat. No. 3,779,557, AUS. Pat. No. 7,513,502B1, issued Apr. 7, 2009 and many others. These games may involve story telling but they do not stimulate visual creativity using abstract imagery.
In U.S. Pat. No. 1,379,871 issued May 31, 1921 teaches of a set of cards where each card depicts a scene and object or descriptive matter to be used as a game or puzzle. the object of the '871 game is to arrange all the cards in the proper order so as to tell a pre-defined story. The prescribed storyline and fixed images, however, limits overall creativity and does not depend on visual creativity.
A picture-based story telling game is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,684,135 issued Aug. 4, 1987, wherein each player is provided with a game card on which is imprinted pictorial illustrations and legends characterizing a predetermined number of different kinds of stories. The players randomly determine the characteristics of the story that are to be told. The player must tell the prescribed stories using the entire card. The cards are prescriptive, limiting the player's freedom and creativity and it does not depend on visual creativity.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,719,290B1, issued Apr. 13, 2004, teaches of a story telling and idea generation game. The invention is an apparatus of concentric-rings with each ring is adorned With text and/or graphics that represent words, ideas, persons, places, things, and times (days, months, years, centuries, etc.). As in previous invention's the graphics are intended to represent specific items, limiting its ability to stimulate visual creativity or connections between subconscious ideas.
Another pictorial story telling game is disclosed in, in US Patent application No. 2006/0040748 published Feb. 23, 2006. Here, a storytelling game is disclosed where the goal of the game is to work through a story and bring it a successful ending by choosing among possible story directions at story branch points. The game can include electronic card readers and multiple story cards. While cards and story telling are involved, the cards are again quite literally interpreted and the hence limit visual creativity and freedom of interpretation.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,494,127B2 issued Feb 24, 2009, teaches of a pictorial story telling game which is explicitly designed to stimulate creativity. The game uses cards with photo cards depicting a discrete scene place or object. Players use at least one of the selected cards to tell a story. A score is developed based on pre-determined characteristics of the story including story composition, the time taken to tell the story as well as the story having an explicit beginning, middle and end. The '127 patent relies again on very explicit depictions of discrete scenes/places, limiting the player's freedom and creativity. While the game of the '127 patent may engage one aspect of creativity, it does not depend on or engage the users' visual creativity, and the fixed images limit the player's freedom of choice while telling the story.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,596,640 B1, issued Dec. 3, 2013, teaches of a method of play wherein play emphasizes storytelling and story recounting abilities with a plurality of game elements for subjects of the story and a plurality of situational elements and players provide a story based on the paired subject element and selected situational element. While this provides for stories, it does not stimulate visual creativity or significant imagination as the subject and situation are prescribed.
Another area of related art is in stories generated from character, role-playing or battle games with or without collectible trading card elements. A typical example typical of such a game is a collectible trading card game incorporating elements of strategy and chance is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,662,332, issued Sep. 2, 1997. The '332 patent teaches of a trading card game and method of play in which the game components include energy cards, and command or spell cards that utilize the energy to allow the player to attack, defend and modify the effect of other energy cards or spell cards. The game may also include creature cards. The goal of the game is to reduce the life points of other players to a level below one. The play is effectively telling a story of a magic-based battle between players, however the method of play does not draw on visual creativity and offers little freedom in story play. Rather the '332 game provides for each player to be able to construct their own library of cards, and play based on those cards. The trading of cards allows different players to have library. The trading/collecting is based on the function of the card, not because of the artwork on that card. One embodiment of the current invention is based on each player using a personalized repository of cards based in part on their abstract art content not based on their strategic value and power in the game.
The prior art does not provide for a method of game play that constructs stories based on creative visual interpretation of abstract images. This limits the use of visual creativity, the ability to see different interpretations/uses of the cards. Just as the art world saw a expansion of creativity based on progression from simple drawings, to realistic drawings, to photographs, to abstract art, the present invention expands creativity in the method of game play by using abstract imagery that leave the interpretation of what the imagery means to the user.
Furthermore, none of the aforementioned inventions teach of using the same core method of play to use used in a variety of ways to support different size groups or to be constructively in solving problems.